Most Americans feel more patriotic as July 4 approaches, even under current conditions. In a presidential election year, with many state and local issues and offices on the ballot as well, that sentiment may be particularly strong.The best way to put...
Shavuot, which we commemorated last week, marks the pivotal moment in Jewish history when God gave the Ten Commandments not only to Moses but to the entire Israelite community that gathered at Mount Sinai. Among those commandments is “Thou shalt not...
At the end of the school day Thursday, March 12, I called my yearbook representative on my way home from work. I knew that life as I knew it was about to change because of the coronavirus, and I needed to prepare myself, my family and my school family...
As summer begins and a period of calmer, warmer days sets in, our tradition calls us back to the wilderness. This week, Jewish communities all over the world will prepare to retell the story of the giving and receiving of the Torah at Mount Sinai recounted...
By Rabbi Carnie Shalom Rose
• Published May 28, 2020
In our tradition, the Holy-Day of Shavuot, the middle of our Shalosh Regalim, our three pilgrimage festivals of Pesach, Shavuot and Sukkot, is unique in several ways. First, it is the only one not assigned a specific date by the Torah on the Jewish calendar...
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has done it again. Last week, the Israeli High Court ruled unanimously not to overturn the painstakingly negotiated power deal between his center-right Likud Party and rival Benny Gantz’s center-left Blue and...
BY ROBERT A. COHN, Editor-in-Chief Emeritus
• Published May 14, 2020
According to the Torah, Moses was 80 years old when he led the Israelites through the 40-year Exodus out of Egypt to the edge of the Promised Land. Now I am 80 years old and while I would not try to compare myself to Moses, our Greatest Prophet who...
Missourians of all faiths were shocked and outraged over a fire that was apparently set at the Islamic Center in Cape Girardeau on April 24, causing extensive damage to the sanctuary at the start of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan.Reacting to the fire,...
The dark cloud of the COVID-19 pandemic has entered a new and, for many, an even more frustrating phase. While an uncertain future unfolds, some parts of our nation, state and local community are beginning to allow certain businesses to reopen while others...
In August 2018, I began a yearlong program called the High School Leadership Program at Cultural Leadership, an organization that focuses on understanding cultural differences and injustices through Jewish and African American lenses. Over the course...
The coronavirus appears to have accomplished in Israel what three inconclusive elections and long hours of debate have not: an emergency coalition government.Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his main challenger, Benny Gantz, announced Monday that...
Among the many questions that the current shelter-in-place situation has posed, here is one more: How can the Jewish community properly and respectfully observe Yom HaShoah when the COVID-19 shutdown has made large gatherings impossible? Yom HaShoah,...
